70 



A SYNOPSIS OF TIIK PLANT KINGDOM 



tloniooir. The foiulrlls an- usually lioiur singly at the 

 ihhIos aiul art' thounlit lo ho uuHlilicd axillary branches. 

 riic fruits are cxrci'iliiisily diverse and odd. Some are 

 the larsest fruits of the vesietahle knisidoin, otliers are 

 very tiny. The gourds are very diverse in shape and 

 color. — club-shaped, globular, or flattened from above, 

 or curiously curvinl. 



The family is of considerable economic importance. 

 The fruits of many are edible; e. g., ('itciirhilii Pepo 

 (piuiipkin. suiiuner erookneck sqiuish), C. maxima 

 tsquash). C. moscluita (winter erookneck squash), 

 Ciicumh Mclo (muskmelon and other nielonsl, C. 

 Mlini (.cucumber), Citrullu^ vulgaris (watermelon). 

 The gourds are cultivated as curiosities and for the 

 fruit to boused as household utensils, e.g., bottle-gourds 

 and calabash (.Lagenaria). The leaves, stems, or roots 

 of very many siJocies contain bitter, subresinous sub- 

 stances which render them drastic purgatives. The 

 roots of Bryonia alba (bryony) of Europe are highly 

 purgative. The fruits of colocinth {('ilridlus Coln- 

 cynthis) of the orient and North .\frica furnish a purga- 

 tive known to the ancients. The fruit of LufTa of India 

 anti Arabia is purgative when ri])o but edible when 

 green. The outer portion of the fruit of LufTa is very 

 fibrous and reticulated, and, when cleaned, .scrv'es as a 

 sponge or dish-cloth in the Antilles (lufi'a-spongo or 

 Egyptian bath-sponge). The .small gourd of Benin- 

 casa hispida (wax gourd or Chinese watermelon) of 

 tropical Asia is considered an emblem of fertility in 

 India and is presented to newly married couples. Acan- 

 thosicyos of the South African ilesert is remarkably 

 erect and spiny, but the small fruit is considered a 

 delicacy. Elaterium is a <lrug obtained from the juice 

 of Ecbaltium Elaterium. 



The most remarkable fruit is the squirting cucumber 

 (Echallium Elaleriuui) of the Mediterranean region. 

 The prickly fruit, about 2 inches long, becomes very 

 turgid and finally explodes with a considerable report. 

 The biusal end is l)lown out like a cork from a bottle, 

 and the pulpy interior, containing the seeds, is pro- 

 jected to a considerable distance. 



Twenty to 30 genera are in cultivation in N. America. 

 Among these are the various melons, squashes, gourds, 

 and the like, mentioned above; also Bryony, Wax 

 Gourd, Balsam Pear or Balsam Apple (Momordica), 

 Di.sh-cloth (jourd. Squirting Cucumber, Curuba 

 (Sicana). and .Snake Gourd (Trichosanthes). 



214. Campanulaceae (from the genus Campanula, a 

 diminutive of ciunp/tna, a Uttle bell). Bkllflovvek 

 I-".\MILY. Fig. .')(). Herbs, shrubs, or trees, mostly with 

 rnilky juice: leaves usually alternate, exstipulate, rarely 

 lobed or divided: flowers bisexual, rarely unisexual, 

 regular or irregular, often bilabiate and split, down the 

 back, usually ejjigynous; calyx of usually !>, separate, 

 valvate sepals; corolla usually .'j-lobed, gamopetalous, 

 very rarely polypetalous; stamens as many as the lobes 

 of the corolla, often slightly epipetalous, separate or 

 united; ovary usually inferior, 2-.5-celled or 6-10- 

 celled, rarel}' 1-celled; ovules many; style 1; stigmas 

 1 to .several: fruit a capsule, rarely a berry. 



Campanulacea' has .'59 genera and about 1,.500 

 species, occurring in all parts of the world but mostly in 

 the temperate regions. A large part are alpine. Arbo- 

 rescent forms occur in tlie Hawaiian Islands. The family 

 is rather distantly related to the Oimpositx, Dipsaca- 

 ceae, Caprifoliaceac. Formerly the Lobcliact'a; were sepa- 

 rated as a distinct family, but the only difTerencea 

 are in the irregular flowers and syngenesious or mona- 

 delphous stamens, both of which show abundant tran- 

 .silions. When united, the family con.stitiites a very 

 di.'-tinct group. The gamopetalous epigynous flower, 

 the many ovules and the frequently united stamens 

 are rli.stinetive. The stamens are sometimes united by 

 their filaments with the anthers free (monadelphous), or 

 by the anthers with the filaments free (syngenesious), 

 or by both filaments and anthers. 



Ldhcliu inflata (lobelia, Indian tobacco) of North 

 America is poisonous. The foliage fiu'nishes the 

 medicinal lobelia. L. ni/phililicii was used for syphilis 

 by the Indians, but is of no value. The roots of this 

 latter plant and of the cardinal ttowcr (L. airdinalitf) 

 are more or less |>oisonous. The berries and fleshy 

 roots of some Campanulacea' have boon used as food. 



In cultivation in N. America are some 20 genera. 

 Among those are: Shephertl s Scabious, or Shoep's-bit 

 (Jasione) ; Chinese or .Jai)ane.se Bellflower or Balloon 

 Flower (Platycodon) ; Venus's Looking-glass (Spocu- 

 laria); Horned Hampion (I'hytouma); Giant Bellflower 

 (Ostrowskia); Lobelia and the Cardinal Flower (Lo- 

 belia); and the Bellflowers or Bluebells (Campanula). 



57. Composit.e: 1. Vernonia, fruit. 2. Eupatorium, head. 3. 

 Erigeron, disk flower. 4. Ambrosia, fniiting involucre. 5. Xan- 

 tbium, fruiting involucre. 6. Coreop.siH, head. 7. Dahlia, ray 

 flower. 8. Bidens, fruit. 9. Cosmos, disk flower, corolla removed. 

 10. Helenium, di.sk flower, vertical section. 11. Rlutisia, head. 12. 

 Senecio, floral digaram. 13. Cichorium, a, head; 6, fruit. 14. 

 Lactuca, fruit. 15. Hieracium, ray flower. 



21.5. Compositae (name having reference to the 

 aggregation of the flowers into heads or falser flowers, i. e., 

 composite flowers). Composite Family. Fig. 57. Herbs, 

 shrubs, or rarely trees, sometimes twining, often with 

 milky juice: leaves alternate, opposite or whorled, 

 very <livorse in shape, size and texture: flowers bisexual 

 or unisexual, regular or irregular, epigynous; subtended 

 by a bract called chaff; aggregated into 1- to many- 

 flowered involucrate heads; calyx (pappus) reduced to 

 hairs, scales, awns, or a border, or wanting; corolla 

 gamopetalous, normally regular, 4-.5-lobed; the lobes 

 valv.ate; in one tribe bilabiate; often enlarged and 

 split down one side, and flattened out (ligulafe or ray 

 flowers); stamens usually 4-.5, epipetalous, synge- 

 nesiotis, alternating with the corolla lobes; carpels 2; 

 ovary 1-collod, 1-ovuled, inferior; style 1; stigmas 2, 

 rarely 1 : fruit an achene, often crowned by the persistent 

 papjjus; seed exalbuminous. 



